Rivetra Modern AU: Petals
by Rebecca Isabella
Summary: Petra gets a date. Levi gets jealous. Petra gets a sammich. Levi gets revenge. Fluffy.


After a while, a restless person becomes a lazy person, and thats just what Levi was afraid of. He spent all of this time cooped up in a downtown restaurant: waiting on tables, working the host desk, and occasionally cleaning up when they were short staffed. Too many days were wasted away in this tiny two room Italian restaurant having to deal with strangers petty requests for refills or new utensils. People were rude and ignorant to waiters, and this didn't improve his attitude at all.

Few customers came in often enough to actually appreciate the employees. One of these regulars was a pretty little thing named Petra. He never let himself think about her too much. He would never let himself open up to the possibility of becoming close to anyone, much less to a customer. His thoughts about her were casual. He admired how she wore slouchy beanies and jeans, but was still well put together. He like the way she was kind to his co-workers and other customers (even though he could hardly stand them) He like the way her name sounded, how it looked written down. However, he didn't know he liked any of these things until the one faithful day when she showed up with a date. It was a cold February night and Levi was working the concierge desk when he saw them pull up in a deep red convertible.

The minute he saw them together, he gripped the ballpoint pen he had held in his hand. All the feelings he subconsciously had for her bubbled to the surface. It was a horrible time to have a revelation because now he would have to escort them to a table and watch them together for the rest of the night.

"Evening Levi, table for two please" she said, greeting him with a smile. Her date walked in behind her and nodded at Levi to acknowledge his presence.

Levi clenched his teeth and scribbled down her name on the list while the both of them sat down in the waiting area. Levi observed them from afar and tried to keep a stoic expression; he was no longer lazy or restless.

Petra had her shoulder length hair curled at the ends and she wore a blue cropped peasant blouse with a wide neckline paired with a neutral colored pencil skirt that grazed her knees. The boy she had brought with her had the worst fashion sense Levi had ever laid eyes on. He sported a grey jersey with the last name "Castor" on the back in bold white lettering. It had been sloppily contrasted by olive green track pants and neon yellow socks. Levi wondered just how in the world Petra had gotten herself involved with this excuse of a date. She had probably gotten peer pressured into going out with him or had met him online in which he used a heavily photoshopped profile picture. Finally, a table opened up and Levi motioned for them to follow him.

"How many kids menus tonight?" Levi asked without any sarcastic or teasing hint in his voice.

Petra laughed and her date smirked, but Levi remained unmoving as if waiting for an answer. When Petra's giggle had died down, Levi still stood with his hand lingering above the tray of menus.

"Two adult menus, please" the date said.

Levi picked them up before he had finished the word "two" and was already on route to their table. The couple stumbled after him, Petra almost tripping on her blue kitten heels. Levi had strategically selected a table for them, not a booth in which the date could casually drape his arm across her. He had also made sure that the table was close to the bathrooms and that there was an elderly couple across from them and a family with two toddlers next to them. Yes, he was an expert in killing romance. When they had seated themselves, Levi lingered for a moment longer than a normal concierge should, just to take in his newfound enemy's appearance.

He was short but muscularly built, almost in an awkwardly proportioned way. He had tan skin and his black hair was desperately in need of a trim. After finishing his examination, Levi returned to his counter at the front of the restaurant to greet more customers. He tried to calm his internal screaming as he traced the swirly patterns of wood at the front counter.

The rest of the evening was a blur, he always felt like someone was behind him, mocking him. The jealousy bit away at him little by little: he pondered every one of his own flaws, he thought about the positives of Petra's new date. Thankfully, business was slow at the moment. If a customer had walked up to him while in the middle of his deep contemplating, he would have said something that would have gotten him fired. Suddenly the new intern Eren walked in for his shift in the kitchen.

"Take over the desk." Levi ordered disinterestedly and headed for the back room, leaving a startled Eren stammering in the lobby. Still in his regular clothes, Eren seated himself behind the concierge desk and tried to make sense of the diagrams of the restaurant and the lists of to-go orders.

Levi had had enough; it was time to retreat to a private place and give himself a little pep talk to survive the rest of the night. Much to Levi's dismay, he had forgotten that the back staff room was conveniently next to the public bathrooms and that the public bathrooms were conveniently next to Petra's table. Time slowed down as he walked past_ them_. He noticed every detail: the crumbs on the table top, the water droplets on Petra's glass, the way her gasbag of a date casually spun his steak knife between his middle finger and his thumb as if to show off just how badass he was. More importantly, he noticed the forced smile on Petra's face and the smug egotistical laugh her date let out as he leaned back in his chair, satisfied with himself. The most important thing he noticed was Petra's backward glance at him with desperate eyes just as he closed the door to the staff room.

Once he had locked himself in the staff bathroom, he looked himself in the mirror and instead of having to give himself a talk, he smirked. Now, he knew Petra was enjoying this evening just as much as he was. With a new boost of confidence, he washed his hands as an excuse to be in the back room and walked back to the main lobby, not even bothering to look at the couple again.

Thanks to an unprepared Eren, customers swarmed Levi once he took over the concierge desk. Twenty minutes later, after all the guests were happily seated and given free appetizers as consolation, Levi trained Eren on how to manage the front desk and didn't even notice the annoyed look on Petra's face as her and her laughing date left the restaurant.

The next afternoon, Petra came in during her lunch break and sat at the bar. She was back to normal: straight hair, an tan pullover sweater, pastel jeans, and brown ankle boots. The restaurant was quiet: only a handful of other customers were present, giving Levi the perfect excuse to engage in conversation with Petra.

"The usual drink and a meatball sandwich please" she requested of Levi as she dug through her purse for her ringing phone. As Levi prepared her coffee he listened in on her conversation.

"Mmhmm…"

"Oh really?"

"Yeah of course"

He heard from her as he moved around the kitchen. When he returned with her meal, she had completely abandoned the conversation and her phone was face up on the counter, a rough voice still echoing out of the speaker.

"What his name?" Levi asked casually as he placed her plate and cup down.

She held up her phone and Levi read the caller id: Arash

"Its pronounced Aw-rawsh" she said boredly to Levi before hanging up.

"Self-Absorbed?"

"Severely."

"Break up then"

Petra then paused before saying, "There's a good in everyone. I'll give him time."

Levi raised his eyebrows.

"Hey, at least he's athletic and funny…sometimes…" Petra defended, but the last part of her statement faded into a murmur.

"Have you planned a second date?" Levi asked

"Valentines day at a club; I might bail on this one if we go downhill before then." Petra nodded before returning to her sandwich, thus ending the conversation.

"Hm. Classy." Levi mumbled sarcastically at Arash's plans.

Levi watched her for a while as she gently added two sugar packets to her coffee. He then walked back to the kitchen to help with a to-go order that Eren had screwed up and give himself a mental smack in the face. Who was he to be giving Petra relationship advice? They had never really had conversations past small talk; why should she have to tell him about her love life. Was this a friendship? Was Levi accidentally hitting on her? How did they become so close? There were no pick up lines, no flirtatious glances, just a mutual friendship between them because they saw each other almost everyday throughout the months that Levi had worked at the restaurant.

Grabbing his jacket and untying his apron, Levi left the tiny Italian restaurant at 4:00pm that same day and drove toward a local drugstore to pick up some Tide. When standing in line to checkout, he noticed a familiar flash of neon socks in front of him.

"Crap." he mumbled under his breath as he tried to get a look at Arash.

He talking to someone over his shiny white iPhone while holding a bag of candy and a valentines day card to check out.

"Petra…yeah, on the 14th at a club near St. Ratford street…you can't?…mhm…some other time…" he murmured into his phone. Levi rolled his eyes; Petra deserved better anyway.

Much to his surprise, Arash dialed number after number and repeated similar dialogues.

"I know we haven't talked in a while but…oh….taken?…mhm…"

"Are you free on the 14th?…you're where?…okay…"

" . the club near …really?!…see you there…"

Levi was shocked but kept an unemotional face. This jackass was an cheater and an egotistical jerk. Levi fought off the urge to beat him up and calmly left the store, eager to see Petra the next day.

When Levi told her everything he heard, she didn't question him but only ordered a sixteen ounce of wine instead of her usual coffee. Levi didn't have a reason to lie about this kind of thing, neither would he be so manipulative towards her.

"So now I guess I have to break up with him." she muttered into her wine glass, clearly disappointed that she couldn't find a genuine good trait about her date.

"No, now you get even," Levi replied "we're going to track down everyone of his girlfriends and tell them the truth."

Petra's eyes sparkled as she gave Levi a wide grin and her number. They agreed to meet at the club near on Valentines day.

Levi found her waiting at the entrance in a satin green dress with an off shoulder sleeve. Then he realized that this was the first time she was going to see him without his work outfit on._ No, now is not the time for doubts _He told himself as he continued to walk with her down the stairs into the bar. He felt confident in his dress shirt and dark jeans as he escorted her to the second floor, where there was a balcony that they could use to watch the entire room. Music blasted, colored lights danced, and drunk people paraded around them.

"Should we split up and try to find him?" she suggested

"No, I want to be there when you get your revenge." he said, still surveying the lower floor from above.

Ten minutes went by of watching from the balcony and Petra was becoming impatient.

"Let me buy you a drink." Levi said without a hint of flirtatiousness in his voice. Petra stammered but before she could question him, he was already holding a thick peach colored drink with a tiny umbrella sticking out of it. Gingerly, he handed the heavy cup to her and she began to take a sip.

"What are you doing?!" he yelled, grabbing her wrist.

"Isn't this what you're supposed to do with a drink?" she asked.

"Do you know how much alcohol is in that?" he grumbled over the music. "this is for your payback."

Petra blushed but then looked over Levi's shoulder to see the dirty cheater himself. Her expression changed from embarrassment to resentful. She shamelessly marched to where he was sitting with a tall brunette in a skimpy dress.

"You're an egotistical douche and a lousy date. Real players never get caught." she yelled in his face before splashing the oversized drink over his head and tossing the sticky cup in his date's lap.

By now, people around then had turned to see the commotion; a few people clapped while others took pictures with their phones. Petra had a proud look on her face and Levi stood a few feet away with a satisfied smile. Suddenly, a spotlight fell on the soaked couple who was now thoroughly embarrassed. Levi looked up at the source of the light and saw a smiling Eren at an even higher balcony giving a thumbs up.

Petra turned on her heel with the adrenaline still rushing through her and grabbed Levi's hand; They walked away smiling before their victims could protest. Maybe Levi would bring her back here some other day and buy her a beverage she could actually drink.

Authors Note: Inspired by a real life cheater. I just noticed in almost all of my stories Levi manipulates cadets to work for him. Open to ideas for new chapters.:D


End file.
